Abstract

Research and research methods is an integral part of postgraduate study. However, it is becoming increasingly more common to find students having to complete a research methods course at the undergraduate level. The purpose of this research is thus to investigate undergraduate students' attitudes towards studying research methods. The research also aimed to look at whether students believe that studying research methods provided them with valuable research skills which may make them more employable in the job market. . A questionnaire was given to approximately 360 students at the beginning of their research methods course, that asked students to record what they understood by the term research, what they thought the purpose of research was as well as how they thought this course might contribute to their employability. Students were also asked to fill in a Research Conceptions Inventory. Students were registered in both a face-to-face and blended learning delivery courses. Whilst this study is longitudinal, this paper will only present findings from the first phase of the study and only on the blended learning students. Preliminary results indicate that students generally had a poor notion of the purpose of research and thought its main purpose was to gather information about a particular topic. In terms of employability, many thought the research skill of gathering information will be useful for when going to an interview or doing a job search. These results hope to influence future curriculum design and inform current policy and practice for teaching research methods, which might be instrumental in helping students to become more active researchers.